Joshua 15:8

8 And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Hinnom, by the side of (the) Jebusites, at the south; this is Jerusalem; and from thence it up-raiseth itself to the top of the hill, that is against Hinnom at the west, in the height of the valley of Rephaim, against the north; (And it goeth up by the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the Jebusites; that is Jerusalem; and from there it raiseth itself up to the top of the hill, west of the Hinnom Valley, which is at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley;)

Joshua 15:8 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 15:8

And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom
Which belonged to a man of that name formerly; and was near Jerusalem, placed by Jerom ^F12 to the east of it; but Reland ^F13 rather thinks it is to the south. It was infamous for the sacrifices of children to Moloch in it, by burning them, or causing them to pass through fire: hence, in allusion to it, hell fire is often in the New Testament called "Geenna", ( Matthew 5:22 Matthew 5:29 Matthew 5:30 ) ( 10:28 ) ( 18:9 ) ( Matthew 23:15 Matthew 23:33 ) ( Mark 9:43 Mark 9:45 Mark 9:47 ) ( Luke 12:5 ) ( James 3:6 ) ; this border from the salt sea, and from Jordan, is all along said to "go up", because from hence to Jerusalem was an ascent, that lying on higher ground:

unto the south side of the Jebusite;
of the place the Jebusite inhabited:

the same is Jerusalem;
which was formerly called Jebus, from the inhabitants of it; yea, Jebusi, as here, and so may intend not the inhabitants, but the place, see ( Joshua 18:28 ) ( Judges 19:10 ) ; and here the Jebusites lived, at least in some part of it, until the time of David, ( 2 Samuel 5:6-8 ) ;

and the border went up to the top of the mountain that [lieth] before
the valley of Hinnom westward:
which is generally supposed to be the mount Moriah:

which is at the end of the valley of the giants, northward:
the valley of Rephaim, as it is called ( 2 Samuel 5:18 ) , and here Mount Moriah, as it was to the west of the valley of Hinnom, it was to the north of the valley of Rephaim; which valley, as Josephus ^F14 says, was not far from Jerusalem, twenty furlongs from it. Some late travellers ^F15 tell us it lies in the way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and is not above two hours' ride from the former. From this account it appears, as Jarchi remarks, that Jerusalem was not within the line, and was not in the border of Judah, but of Benjamin, which tribe lay to the north of Judah: it seems indeed to have been one part of it in the tribe of Judah, and the other in the tribe of Benjamin; though the Jews frequently say it did not belong to either tribe.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B.
F13 Palest. lllustrat. tom. 1. p. 253.
F14 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 4. sect. 1. & 12. 4.
F15 Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 370.

Joshua 15:8 In-Context

6 And the term ascendeth into Bethhogla, and passeth from the north into Betharabah; and it ascendeth to the stone of Bohan, (who was) [the] son of Reuben,

7 and it goeth unto the terms of Debir, from the valley of Achor against the north; and it beholdeth Gilgal, which is on the contrary part of the ascending of Adummim, from the south part of the strand; and it passeth the waters, that be called the well of the sun; and the outgoings thereof shall be to the well of Rogel. (and it goeth unto Debir, from the Achor Valley, and turneth to the north; and it beholdeth Gilgal, which is on the opposite side of the ascent of Adummim, south of the river, or the valley; and it passeth the waters of Enshemesh; and its end, or its limit, shall be Enrogel.)

8 And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Hinnom, by the side of (the) Jebusites, at the south; this is Jerusalem; and from thence it up-raiseth itself to the top of the hill, that is against Hinnom at the west, in the height of the valley of Rephaim, against the north; (And it goeth up by the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the Jebusites; that is Jerusalem; and from there it raiseth itself up to the top of the hill, west of the Hinnom Valley, which is at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley;)

9 and it passeth forth from the top of the hill to the well of the water(s) of Nephtoah, and it cometh unto the towns of the hill of Ephron; and it is bowed into Baalah, that is Kiriathjearim, that is, the city of woods;

10 and it compasseth from Baalah against the west, unto the hill of Seir, and it passeth by the side of the hill of Jearim to the north in Chesalon (and it goeth west from Baalah to Mount Seir, and it passeth by the north side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon), and (then) it goeth down into Bethshemesh; and it passeth forth into Timnah,